CNN) -- A 19-year-old gunman who killed eight people and then himself Wednesday at the Westroads Mall in Omaha, Nebraska, left a suicide note, police said.


Police have identified the gunman as Robert A. Hawkins, 19, of Nebraska.

1 of 4 more photos » Chief Thomas Warren of the Omaha Police Department called the shooting "premeditated," but said it "appears to be very random and without provocation."

Surveillance cameras may have captured the shooting, Warren said.

"We'll be here throughout the night, it's a very extensive crime scene," he said.

Police identified the gunman as Robert A. Hawkins of Nebraska.

They have recovered an SKS assault rifle and the suspect's vehicle.

Hawkins had lived for about the past year and a half with Debora Maruca Kovac, who told CNN she took him in because he reminded her of a "lost puppy that nobody wanted."

Kovac said she found Hawkins' suicide note and called his mother. In the note, she said, Hawkins apologized and said he no longer wanted to be a burden. He also expressed a sense of worthlessness and said "now he'll be famous," Kovac said. Kovac said that Hawkins and his girlfriend had recently broken up and he had just lost his job at a McDonald's restaurant.

The gunman's victims include five women and three men, Warren said. Police have yet to determine whether they were mall employees or customers.

Witnesses described chaos and frantic shoppers running away from the Von Maur store, where the shooting began just before 2 p.m.

"You're in such shock, it's hard to think. I was hoping God would spare us," said a woman who was clutching a rosary in her trembling hand after the shootings. "We had to put up our hands and follow the police to the outside."

"My knees rocked. I didn't know what to do, so I just ran with everybody else," shopper Kevin Kleine told The Associated Press.

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"I was standing around getting ready to go back to work and all of a sudden I heard this bang, bang, bang -- it sounded like someone shooting fireworks," another witness told CNN affiliate KETV. "I ran to get away from whatever was happening."

Others described scenes of horror as they fled the mall. See a map of where the shooting took place »

"We heard about 35, 40 shots, and on our way out we did see someone down by the escalator, bleeding," Jennifer Cramer told KETV.

Some shoppers and mall employees hid in clothes racks, dressing rooms and bathrooms after hearing the shots. Watch witnesses describe the ordeal »

"I heard three loud pops," said mall employee Charissa Tatoon. "Immediately after that, there was a series of maybe 20 to 25 more shots up on the third floor." She said she saw a man shot on the second floor and "at least four or five" people brought out on gurneys.

Sgt. Teresa Negron said it was not yet known whether the gunman said anything before opening fire, because police were still interviewing witnesses.

Seven people died at the scene, and two -- a man and a woman -- died after reaching Creighton University Medical Center.

Two of the wounded are in critical condition.

Most of the victims were shot inside the Von Maur store, Negron said. Watch police talk about the shooting »

The wounded include a woman who was in surgery in critical condition; a 61-year-old man who was shot in the armpit and suffered a chest wound; a 34-year-old man who was shot in the arm and a 55-year-old man who fell and struck a clothing rack with his face as he was trying to escape.

President Bush visited Omaha Wednesday but left an hour before the shooting, the AP reported.

"The president is deeply saddened by the shootings in Omaha, Nebraska, earlier today," White House press secretary Dana Perino said.

"His thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families this evening. Having just visited with so many members of the community in Omaha today, the president is confident that they will pull together to comfort one another as they deal with this terrible tragedy."

As news of the shooting spread, people gathered outside the mall, checking on loved ones who were inside.


The shopping center will be closed until at least Thursday, police said.

The shooting was at least the fourth at a mall or shopping center so far this year, following incidents in Salt Lake City, Utah; Kansas City, Missouri; and Douglasville, Georgia